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There's not a single city or region across Australia where the average income earner can afford to buy a house, according to new analysis by the Parliamentary Library.
The report was commissioned by the Greens and used data from property researcher Core Logic and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
It found the average annual income required to buy a house and not fall into housing stress (that is, spend less than 30 per cent of their income on mortgage repayments) was $164,400 – more than 1.5 times the average income.
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That figure dropped to $130,599 for an apartment, but rose to more than $186,000 for houses in capital cities.
The Greens say the analysis shows there is no region or city in the country where an average single-income earner can buy a house without falling into stress.
Perth and Darwin are the only cities where units are affordable for someone on an average income.
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The report is based on the assumption that a homebuyer has put down a 20 per cent deposit and is paying back both principal and interest on a mortgage with a 6.49 per cent standard variable rate.
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather said the report clearly showed the need for change in Australia's housing market.
"When you need to earn $186,000 a year and have a $173,000 deposit to buy a house in a capital city in Australia, then you know the system is broken," he said.
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Chandler-Mather repeated the Greens' calls for the government to wind back negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions provided to investment property owners.
"The only way we are going to fix this crisis is if Labor finally works with the Greens to phase out the massive tax handouts for property investors, like negative gearing, that are denying millions of renters the chance to buy a home," he said
"Owning a home has become an impossible dream for millions of Australians."
The government is instead working to pass its help to buy scheme that would see it make equity contributions for up to 10,000 low-income homebuyers a year, allowing them to purchase a home with a deposit of as low as two per cent.
The Greens don't support the policy, describing it as a "housing lottery" that would push up home prices.
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